Bristol Myers Squibb is leaning heavily on its newer key products, grouped into its growth portfolio category, to weather the storm it expects as it heads toward further declines within its legacy product portfolio.
In 2025, the company’s performance was carried by products in the growth portfolio category, which together pulled $26.4 billion of the drugmaker's total revenue haul of $48.2 billion.
In an investor presentation, CEO Chris Boerner specifically pointed to several of these newer products in melanoma med Opdualag, CAR-T Breyanzi and heart drug Camzyos, each of which delivered blockbuster annual sales. Also in the growth group, blood disorder treatment Reblozyl generated more than $2 billion.
New products such as these are key to BMS’ long-term growth plan as it faces impacts from patent losses on its older products, or its legacy portfolio. Each of the four highlighted “differentiated, durable” new medicines hold potential to “further strengthen the foundation for long-term growth" with a “meaningful runway ahead,” the CEO added.
The newer lineup helped the company post fourth-quarter revenues of $12.5 billion, which came in 2% above analysts’ consensus, Leerink Partners pointed out in a note to clients. Still, the company's overall sales for the year marked a slight decline from $48.3 billion in 2024.
Sales in the legacy portfolio, which includes blood thinner Eliquis and older oncology drugs Revlimid and Pomalyst, fell 16% to $21.7 billion last year. In the growth portfolio, new meds posted overall sales gains of 17% to $26.4 billion.
Eliquis was the only med in the legacy portfolio to not post a yearly decline, instead generating 7% sales growth. But with a U.S. patent cliff in 2028 and European patent protections letting up later this year, the company is anticipating “rapid and steep declines” next year, chief commercialization officer Adam Lenkowsky explained on the company’s earnings conference call. These sales declines will likely end up within the $1.5 billion to $2 billion range in 2027, chief financial officer David Elkins added.
With U.S. demand continuing through this year, however, the company is integrating 10% to 15% sales growth for the drug into its 2026 guidance, which forecasts total revenues between $46 billion and $47.5 billion. Part of this expected Eliquis growth is attributed to a mandated Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) price cut that took effect this year, which Boerner said positions Eliquis to reach more patients.
Still, with Eliquis generics waiting in the wings, the company is turning attention to its growth portfolio as revenue already flows in that direction to match. At the top of BMS’ growth portfolio is checkpoint inhibitor Opdivo, which delivered $10 billion in annual sales for 2025. At the bottom, reflecting the least amount of revenue in the group, is Cobenfy.
Approved to treat schizophrenia in September 2024, the drug was highly anticipated ahead of its launch the following month, but it has so far been off to a slow start, with $155 billion in global sales during 2025.
Still, the company is confident in its potential. Cobenfy has so far attracted over 100,000 prescriptions, Lenkowsky said, with “virtually 100% access” across Medicaid and Medicare and nearly 70% commercial access to boot. With “positive feedback” from physicians, the company is confident in the drug’s potential to become a leading schizophrenia treatment over time and ultimately a “big drug” for the company.
Another growth drug the company highlighted was Opdualag. Now nearly four years into its launch, the drug holds 30% market share in the U.S., contributing to the company’s total market share in metastatic melanoma of over 65%, Lenkowsky pointed out.
For BMS, future growth could come from additional opportunities in M&A as the drugmaker eyes ways to “build breadth and depth” in its existing therapeutic areas, including metabolic diseases, Boerner said. The “obviously exciting area” is one that BMS continues to pay attention to as the market evolves, he explained.